What To Expect From Interbike

BY Cameron Newland

Eurobike and Interbike are the two major bicycle industry tradeshows that occur each fall, and these two tradeshows are where the majority of big product announcements are made.

Given that Eurobike has passed, Interbike offers a chance to see what products will make it to the US market. Haibike and BH Easy Motion have announced a plethora of new products at Eurobike, but not all of them will make their way to our fair shores.

Here’s a rundown of what we can expect to find out at this year’s Interbike, which is happening this week:

Haibike brings off-road focused SDURO ebikes stateside

Haibike has long sold its less-expensive SDURO line (which are powered by Yamaha electric systems) in Europe, but only brought their more expensive Bosch-powered XDURO line to the US. That is changing in 2016. It’s not clear if Haibike’s current US marketing and distribution partner (Currie Tech/Accel North America) will be handling the SDURO introduction, but the language coming from press releases seems to indicate that Accel North America will only handle XDURO imports. If true, this could mean that it might be more difficult to find the new SDURO bikes in the US come 2016, or that SDURO Haibikes and XDURO Haibikes will be found at different dealers.

Vintage Electric Bikes, purveyor of the retro-styled E-Tracker and Cruz models, is finally equipping one of its steeds with a front suspension fork, which will go to good use, as both their models sport top speeds of 36MPH, and hitting a pothole at those speeds without any dampening could be very dangerous.

The Ridge Rider’s offers a 500-watt geared motor which seems to be beefy enough to ascend the steepest climbs, and is powered by a 48-volt, 11 amp hour battery. Its components seem to be ready to meet any challenge, with its Suntour XCR Air 27.5 suspension with 100mm travel and Magura front and rear hydraulic disc brakes. The bike offers only a front suspension option, which means that for serious trail freaks, this bike is likely already out of the question, but for current Pedego owners who want their bikes to see a little trail action from time to time, the Ridge Rider could be a great option.

28MPH S-pedelecs from Haibike XDURO

The majority of Haibike XDURO’s line available in the US has been limited to 20MPH, whereas competitors like Stromer, Easy Motion, and IZIP have long offered bikes sporting top speeds in excess of 25MPH. In 2016, Haibike will offer more 28MPH-capable ebikes in order to better compete in the marketplace.

Specialized is the kind of brand with such an intense following that it can skip Interbike entirely and still get bike dealers and the media to show up to its new model year kickoff events, and that is indeed what’s happening this year. Just because the new Turbo won’t be at Interbike doesn’t mean that it won’t be a force to be reckoned with come 2016.

Easy Motion announced dozens of new and updated models at Eurobike, but unfortunately, only some of them are going to make the trip across the pond. Look out for 500W drives, 48V systems replacing 36V ones, new Brose mid-drives, and the new REVO line.